Episode 11 The Big Performance

-10 kids terrified of singing in public..

-Hey, don't cry.

-I don't want to do it.

-This is frightening.

This is really frightening.

..must undergo their toughest performance challenges.

You must be EXTRA nervous.

I'm still shaking and I don't know why.

To face their ultimate fear -

singing to a crowd of 40,000 people at Proms in the Park.

There's enough people there to eat you alive.

I just can't explain how I feel. I'm just really scared.

The day has come, but are they ready?

What has happened to the actions?

You've got to project and they're not. It's not a performance.

I have said "smile" till I am blue in the face.

Miriyah and everyone's nervous. Even Gareth's nervous.

As their challenging journey reaches its climax.

11 weeks of work and now it all comes down to three minutes on that stage.

Can they do it? This is The Big Performance.

Over the past 11 weeks, these novice singers

have been on a sensational singing tour.

In a bid to banish their performance nerves and build their confidence.

Hey, hey, I don't want you to cry.

They've been set a series of nail-biting challenges.

-Are you ready?

-No.

-I'm not going.

From singing in front of the coolest boys in school.

I hate singing in front of boys. It's really scary.

To strutting down the street like Lady Gaga.

Choirmaster Gareth Malone has spent 11 weeks attempting

to banish their extreme stage fright.

But has he done enough to prepare them

for an audience of 40,000 people?

Last time, the group had their first rehearsal with the 80-piece BBC Concert Orchestra.

They performed live to eight million people

on the Chris Evans Breakfast Show.

-Morning, children.

-Morning.

-You must be EXTRA nervous.

And Gareth revealed who had secured the sought-after solo spot.

Miriyah.

Yes!

Today, after 11 weeks of hard work, they face their final test.

Have they found their voices and the confidence to pull it off?

This is it.

The Big Performance.

It's the day before the big performance.

The group have just 24 hours left to get their routine up to scratch.

As the tour bus makes its way to the last destination,

Hyde Park in central London, preparations are under way for Proms in the Park.

What I really want to get today is the sense

that it's starting to happen.

They'll see the lights, all the people rehearsing, the stage technicians,

everything being put together for this performance, cos that's what gets you excited.

I think they think that Proms in the Park is people drinking cups of tea.

And it's like a rock concert, it's a huge, huge event.

This outdoor concert was first held

14 years ago to capitalise on the success of the Last Night of the Proms. It's grown in popularity

and, as well as Hyde Park,

there are now events held all over the UK

to a combined audience of 80,000 people.

This is Hyde Park, where, tomorrow, you are going to be

performing in front of 40,000 people at Proms in the Park.

Miriyah, you're doing the solo. How are you feeling?

How does that make you feel?

I think it's going to be, like, really scary.

I need you to dig deep

and give more than you've given to anything

in your entire lives. That's the sort of commitment we need.

We mustn't get complacent.

We've got work to do. Once we're on stage, we can't improve it any more.

There's time to improve.

-Right? Who wants to go and have a look round?

-Me!

-Let's go.

This is the first time the group have seen where they will be performing.

This is what Proms in the Park actually looks like.

When I first came in I was like, "Whoa!"

Cos the stage is huge

I can't believe that we'll be performing there.

We're nervous. Miriyah's nervous and everyone's nervous.

Even Gareth's nervous.

This is the biggest week of my life.

I've never done anything like this.

I'm standing in front of 40,000 people,

conducting kids, who, until a few weeks ago, could barely sing.

This is one of the biggest events in music in the whole country.

I cannot overstate how big and important this is.

-Who wants to look around?

-Me!

-Let's go.

Proms in he Park is a massive event broadcast live on television every year.

-Guys!

-It takes 12 days to set the whole thing up.

Gareth's group will be rubbing shoulders

with some of the world's most respected musical stars.

THEY LAUGH

And just like Gareth, they've even got their own dressing rooms.

It feels brilliant to have our own dressing room.

This is sick.

This is amazing.

I feel like a real celebrity, actually,

especially with the mirror.

I'm really happy that we got a dressing room,

and I'm really excited.

Will the group be able to use this nervous energy

and excitement in their first technical rehearsal?

Welcome to the stage.

What do you think?

This is where you're going to be singing tomorrow.

Take a look out there, right to the back. It will be full of people.

You can see how big this is going to be tomorrow.

-Who thinks we need to rehearse our movements?

-Me!

-Yeah.

Come on, let's go and sort it out, shall we? Off we go.

The group get miked up like pop stars, ready for their rehearsal

with the BBC Concert Orchestra on this daunting stage.

I thought the stage was much bigger than I thought it was going to be.

It's ginormous.

It's absolutely massive.

# Yeah, you and me we can ride on a star

# If you stay with me, girl

# We can rule the world

# You and me we can light up the sky... #

To pull off a performance worthy of this stage

and a 40,000-strong crowd takes huge confidence.

# We can rule the world. #

Everybody looked a little bit terrified. I think we need...

I know that you can do better. What has happened to the actions?

Gareth is concerned that they still don't have enough confidence.

I need to make sure that their performance is going right to the back.

It's no good just looking like this and singing for yourself.

You have got to project. And at the moment, they're not.

It's not a performance.

Sing to me.

# Don't close your eyes

# Don't fade away

# Don't fade away

# Oh, yeah, you and me. #

The performance is lacking energy and enthusiasm.

But even more worrying, there's zero choreography.

It needs work.

It was just the moves and how we looked on stage and everything.

-It was just messed up.

-I didn't think that rehearsal went too good,

but I know I was putting effort into it and smiling.

I don't want to say any names,

but I don't think everyone was putting in as much effort as Miriyah.

We've got 24 hours before we've got to perform

and we need to practise hard. Practise, practise, practise.

You say "smile" and they say, "I AM smiling."

But they're not smiling enough.

It's very frustrating because it's such a small thing.

If they could just enjoy it. But it's got to come from them.

They've got to find a way to LOVE it.

After their disastrous rehearsal, Gareth arranges

an emergency practice to try and put their performance back on track.

Right opposite the Royal Albert Hall is the Royal College of Music,

home to many successful musicians and composers

including chart-topping start Mika and classical violinist Vanessa-Mae.

Let's hope some of their magic will rub off on the group.

It's felt today... I've been asking some of you to smile

in the performance and I keep saying it and it never quite gets there.

We never quite get to the point where we're enjoying it.

If THEY don't love their performance,

the crowd won't either.

Just smiling could completely transform them.

I've brought somebody along to help you with this stuff.

Somebody who saw you quite early on -

in fact, it was when we were only halfway through -

and who I think can give you a little bit of advice

and really comment on how far you've come.

Come in, Barney.

Top CBBC presenter Barney Harwood surprised the group in Liverpool

when he turned up to share some top tips on voice projection.

At the moment, you sound like you're sort of really quiet.

In a box.

You're going to go, "Raaah!"

The clock's ticking to show time and Barney's back

with some much-needed advice and encouragement.

I'm talking to you like this, talking about normal things

and my voice goes quite low, like that.

Your face drops. You've suddenly become serious.

If I'm like this and my eyes are open,

look at you smiling, your mouth's bigger and your teeth are showing

because I'm showing you how I feel

and you're reacting to it.

So the more you smile,

the more you show that you're enjoying yourself,

the more the audience enjoy what you're doing.

To help them really understand,

the singers need to see it for themselves.

Stand in front of the mirror and smile all the way through.

Look at your posture, how you're standing.

Get the chin up, nice and tall. Ready? Here we go.

"If walls..." Everybody. One, two...

ALL: # If walls... #

Look in the mirror. Sing to yourself.

It was a bit embarrassing because you're looking at yourself singing

but, like, I kind of understand how he's coming from

because if we weren't singing with a smile, it just looks rubbish.

OK, here we go.

One, two...

ALL: # You know... #

You've got such a nice smile, and then you get all serious.

And singing is serious, but now's the time to really have fun.

OK, here we go. One, two, three.

ALL: # If all... #

It's very, very important that they smile and they enjoy it

and that they don't look horrified on stage

because it doesn't communicate well

to an audience if you look... really scared.

The exercise is that you're using the mirror to look at yourself,

really ask yourself, "Am I smiling all the way through?"

So that means... I mean, I have said, "Smile!"

until I am blue in the face and they just keep not smiling

and I think we have to really hammer it home.

ALL: # If angels cry

# Oh, I'll be there for you... #

After 11 hard weeks of musical training, it's time for Gareth

to let go of the reins.

This is a big moment in your lives. This is a growing-up moment.

You have to go out there and shoulder that responsibility

and be tough, be strong, be incredibly brave.

Tomorrow you can feel fantastic if you give it everything.

You put in so much energy trying to get them

to give a performance and, ultimately, you can't do it for them.

They've now got to do it.

We all need to make ourselves look good

because if something goes wrong, we've only got one chance.

No second chances.

We can't restart it and we can't stop,

so we need to think about that.

I'm starting to fret. I really am.

There's nothing else to be done now. We just have to go and do it.

The big day has dawned and the group are in good spirits,

ready to face their final and most important performance challenge.

I can't believe it's today! It's just today! Ooh, I'm so excited!

I've realised that now, that whole area over there

is going to be full of people.

So now you can sort of see where everyone's going to go

and how many people there will be.

It's getting a bit nerve-racking.

I can't believe it. Today is the day.

I hope they're well-rested.

Because in about eight hours,

they will be on that stage in front of 40,000 people.

There's one final sound check and rehearsal

and Gareth is still concerned about the missing choreography.

They've been taught the choreography

and totally forgotten it.

I won't let them waste this opportunity.

This is the opportunity of a lifetime.

I want them to walk off that stage feeling they did

the best that they could.

Last week, tap-dance teacher to the stars, Kevin Adams,

taught the group a routine.

But the pressure of the big performance

has got the better of them

and their dance moves have gone out the window.

With six hours to go to the big performance,

Gareth calls for backup.

-Kevin, thank you so much for coming. We have a bit of a situation.

-I know!

The moves have just disappeared. The singing is fine, but we need you.

-After you.

-Thank you, sir.

Kevin's arrived just in time. The group are in serious trouble.

If they can't find their groove, the performance will be ruined.

You can see. You can see what the problem is.

The choreography's gone. The performance faces, gone.

Yeah, everything's gone.

Hi, everyone. ALL: Hi.

Right, Kevin is here to sort out the choreography.

What did you think, Kevin?

It's like your reaction when we came in the door.

"Hi..."

It lacks energy and it lacks the brightness that we had

when we last did it.

Now, gone are the happy faces.

Gone are the arm movements and gone is the enthusiasm!

-Can we get it back?

-Yes.

-Oh. Can we get it back?

-Yes!

-OK, definitely.

Let's go from the beginning.

Yeah, that's a good way.

As Kevin goes over the moves, it's clear where the problem lies.

See?

Paying no attention.

It's hard, like, to sing while you've got to look

and you've got to prove to people that you're enjoying it.

You have got to prove to yourself.

It's hard because you've got to do two things at the same time.

But you've got to do, like, two at the same time.

You have to smile.

-I think I do.

-Yeah, I know.

You do think you're smiling and, inside, you are enjoying it.

-I thought I was smiling! I was like...

-No, no. It's not like that.

I am so glad that Kevin came to us because we just didn't know.

We were like, "What are we supposed to be doing?"

If you sing it with enthusiasm,

the moves will happen with enthusiasm

OK?

ALL: # You and me we can ride on the stars

# If you stay with me, girl

-# We can rule the world... #

-Good!

# You and me, we can light up the sky

# If you stay by my side We can rule the world. #

-Fantastic!

-Yay! Thank you.

Do it like that tonight and make it just as enthusiastic

and just as big, and remember your faces are the most important thing

because they'll be projected on the big screen,

really, really enormously. Good luck.

ALL: Thank you.

Thank you, Kevin. Thank you so much.

Kevin's taught them a fantastic routine, I've taught them to sing,

and now it's over to them. I'm just desperate for them to do it justice.

I think that I'm very, like, passionate

and, like, determined to do my best in everything.

I'm going to remember my moves and, like, to smile when I'm on stage

because that's, like, the final, like, the big, massive performance.

If we just remember them, then we'll do OK,

but if we just forget them, then everything's going to go down.

I want to come off stage and say, "You did it, you got there."

And I just don't know if it's going to be like that.

It is almost show time.

We need to have our hair and make-up perfect.

We need to be warmed up to perform,

and most importantly, we need to have our outfits on,

so the countdown has begun, let's go and get ready for the show.

The concert gates are open.

There's just a three hours to go

until the group face the biggest performance of their lives.

And, just like the celebrities performing tonight,

they need to look the part.

While the kids are distracted in make-up,

there's no lack such luck for Gareth.

Two hours till the show,

and I'm really starting to feel the nerves now,

Butterflies in my tummy are really kicking in.

One hour to go.

11 weeks of work.

And now it all comes down to three minutes on that stage.

I've got to go and get changed, I look a complete mess.

The crowd are in place.

Our singers are ready to take to the stage.

Have they got the guts to give it their all?

Welcome.

It can only be Proms in the Park 2010.

CHEERING

When Gareth first met the group, they barely had the nerve

to sing in front of him.

I can't.

You just did.

Here we go, big breath.

# Twinkle, twinkle, little star... #

Now they must find the courage

to perform to a crowd of 40,000 people.

It's incredible, what you've achieved,

and you've put yourselves through this unbelievable trial.

It's been an absolute pleasure working with you, it's been great.

Watching you all grow in confidence,

really watching you all grow up right in front of me.

I'm really proud of what we've achieved.

I want you to go out there, show your best sides, yeah?

Your absolute best, because that's what

the audience are going to want to see,

and that's what will make all your parents proud.

-Yes?

-Yeah.

Please welcome our old friend, the incomparable Jose Carreras.

There's nothing more Gareth can do.

It's time for the group to take their places backstage.

Listen to that, that is terrifying.

I just hope they do a good job,

because there's enough people there, quite frankly, to eat you alive.

-It's getting scary now, isn't it?

-It's cool.

The nerves are at fever pitch,

but the group has gained a lot of support over the past 11 weeks.

Guys, you're about to go on stage, 40,000 people in the Proms.

I know you're nervous, but, guys, smile,

enjoy it, because it'll be over just like that.

You've learned stage presence, how to hold yourself, how to perform

and now's your big chance.

The audience love you, and so do I, good luck.

You will be nervous.

Accept those nerves, embrace those nerves

and enjoy it for every second,

because it'll be over before you know it.

Eat it up, blow them away at Proms in the Park. Good luck.

-Good luck, guys!

-Good luck, guys!

-Good luck!

-Good luck!

-You're going to smash it, come on!

Please welcome to Proms in the Park, Gareth Malone.

As Gareth is called on stage to introduce the group,

they catch sight of their parents in the 40,000-strong crowd.

I'm really scared for Jordan, and for the rest of the kids,

and I wish them all luck.

I'm so nervous for him. I think I'm more nervous than he is!

-She's brought her family with her.

-The family's in, yes.

Here they come.

The moment has arrived.

Their proud parents are cheering them on,

willing them to hold it together and deliver the performance of a lifetime.

You can tell me who they are,

you're going to conduct them,

-and Miriyah's going to sing the solo.

-Thank you.

Gareth, The Big Performance.

# You light the skies up above me

# A star so bright

# You blind me, yeah

# Don't close your eyes

# Don't fade away don't fade away, oh

# Yeah, you and me we can ride on a star

# If you stay with me, girl

# We can rule the world

# Yeah, you and me we can light up the sky

# If you stay by my side we can rule the world

# If walls break down

# I will comfort you

# If angels cry

# Oh, I'll be there for you

# You've saved my soul

# Don't leave me now

# Don't leave me, no, oh

# Yeah, you and me we can ride on a star

# If you stay with me, girl we can rule the world

# Yeah, you and me we can light up the sky

# If you stay by my side

# We can rule the world. #

Hey, hey, hey,

I don't want you to cry.

Hey, don't cry.

# The stars are coming out tonight

# They're lighting up the sky tonight... #

Somebody's already looking at me like I'm a freak.

# For you...

# Oh, the stars are coming out tonight

# They're lighting up the sky tonight

# For you, for you

# Aaah... #

Whoo!

# Yeah, you and me we can ride on a star

# If you stay with me, girl

# We can rule the world

# Yeah you and me

# We can light up the sky

# If you stay by my side

# We can rule the world. #

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

That's the biggest cheer of the night.

The Big Performance.

They were brilliant!

They were just amazing, unbelievable.

I'm crying now.

Considering how frightened Oli was singing in our house,

to see him singing up there

and looking confident was absolutely amazing.

It's amazing. Thank you!

For Howard to perform live on the stage

in an event as big as this is an awesome of achievement for him.

I'm immensely proud, well done, The Big Performance!

We're amazing!

That was scary!

Yes, yes, yes, yes. It was brilliant.

You did such a fantastic job, I'm so proud of you.

That took such nerve, it was brilliant.

I've just made my family proud, and especially my dad,

because my dad was just like crying.

I've just made my dad proud,

he's the proudest dad in the whole wide world.

I think we can do anything.

We can go anywhere and sing in front of millions of people.

I think we could take on the whole world.

I so want to do it again, I want to do it a million times more!

I think the audience is now on my side,

I just think I can conquer anything in my life now.

It's just amazing to think that, until a few weeks ago,

they couldn't sing in front of their own parents,

and through music and performing, they've got confidence.

They did it.

These 10 children were once so desperately shy

they never dreamt of being able to sing in front of such a massive crowd.

But tonight, they did.

Next time on The Big Performance,

find out how Gareth took this group of 10 shy singers

on a musical journey of a lifetime.

It was all worth it, because it all came together,

and on that stage in front of that audience,

at that moment, they found confidence.

-And transformed them from petrified performers...

-I'm not doing it.

..into sensational singers.

My family hardly recognises who I am.

They're really proud of me and I'm really proud of myself.

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